2 firefighters battling Washington state wildfire arrested by Border Patrol

Seattle – Two firefighters who were part of a crew of 44 people fighting a forest fire on the Washington State Olympic Peninsula were placed in police custody by US border patrol agents during a multi-aging criminal investigation into the two entrepreneurs for whom they worked, the federal authorities announced on Thursday.

The US land management office asked the border patrol to help check workers’ identities on Wednesday when the crews worked in a distant region, the US Department of Internal Security said and the border patrol in a statement. Border patrol officers found two workers in the United States illegally and detained them, agencies said.

The federal authorities have not provided information on the investigation into entrepreneurs and they did not immediately answer questions by seeking details on the criminal case.

The BLM ended contracts with Table Rock Forestry Inc. and Asi Arden Solutions Inc. – Both of Oregon – and escorted the 42 workers off federal land, according to the press release. The two orders were taken to Bellingham station for illegal entrance and back, the authorities said.

The emails and telephone messages left Thursday for the two companies requesting comments were not immediately returned.

The first reports indicating that the firefighters had been arrested by federal agents sparked the indignation of the American senator Patty Murray. Several firefighters who witnessed the incident had declared to the Seattle Times anonymously that federal agents had placed two firefighters in detention.

Murray responded to the news Thursday by saying that the Trump administration undermined the fight against forest fires by “decimating forest service” and that their immigration policy “is fundamentally ill”.

“Here, in the northwest of the Pacific, forest fires can and have burned whole cities,” the Democrat said in a statement. “This new republican policy of detention for firefighters at work is as immoral as it is dangerous.”

Dennis Lawson, president of the Washington State Firefighter Council, told the AP that the firefighters worked as a team and that the loss of a member for any reason whatsoever injured their ability to serve his communities.

Rosario Vasquez, chief agent of the American border patrol sector Blaine, said in the press release that the effort highlights coordination between federal agencies to ensure the integrity of government operations.

“The American border patrol firmly applies the laws of the United States and shamelessly tackles violations of immigration law wherever they are encountered,” said Vasquez.

The crews helped the fire of Bear Gulch, which burned around 14 square miles (36 square kilometers) on the north side of Lake Cushman in the Olympic National Forest and the National Park. It was 13% content Thursday afternoon.

Oregon senator Ron Wyden posted on the social media site X that one of the firefighters arrested was Oregon and denounced the arrest, saying that it makes communities less safe. The man is represented by lawyers of the law laboratory of non -profit innovation, who said that he had been illegally held and that they could not locate it.

“We demand that they allow him to access advice, as is the case for the American Constitution,” said lawyer Rodrigo Fernandez-Torta in an email. “We have seen entire cities burned on the ground and it is scandalous that the American border patrol illegally held the courageous individuals who protect us.”

Washington governor Bob Ferguson said he was “deeply concerned”, adding that firefighters help ensure communities. He said his team had contacted federal agencies to get more information and “wonder why the Trump administration cruel policies are now extending to individuals who fight against forest fires”.

Jennifer Risdal, spokesperson for the US Forest Service incident management team, supervising fire fighting efforts, said they were aware of the border patrol activities on the fire site, but offered no information on what had happened.

“The border patrol operation does not interfere with the activity of fighting fire and firefighters of Bear Gulch continue to progress on the fire,” Risdal told the Associated Press in an email.

During the first Trump administration, the DHS published a statement during the forest fire season in 2020, saying that CBP and the application of immigration and customs were concerned about the impact that fires could have on Western states and said their greatest priority was “the preservation of life and security”.

“In consideration of these circumstances, no initiative to apply immigration will be associated with evacuations or in the forest fire, except in the event of a serious threat of public security,” the statement said.

Public lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove, whose agency oversees Washington fire fighting efforts, said he was aware of Bear Gulch’s fire measures.

“Although we do not yet have all the details, everything occurs at a time when the raw and inhuman approach to the Trump administration of the application of immigration has intentionally and unnecessarily unnecessarily the fear and distrust of public members-including firefighters putting their lives on the line to protect our state,” he said.